125 g flour
100 g finely grated cheese (sharp Emmental, Gruyère or Parmesan)
90 g butter
40 g thick cream or crème fraîche
pinch of cayenne pepper

Mix the flour with the grated cheese. Add the soft butter, cream and pepper and mix by hand until smooth. Place the dough in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 3 hours in refrigerator.

Roll out the dough into a thin sheet. You may use pasta machine to do this.

Cut out crackers of different shapes using cookie cutters or a pastry wheel. Lift the crackers on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.

Brush the crackers with egg, prick them with fork and bake at 225 °C for 5 - 9 minutes, depending on the thickness of the crackers. Do not let them become very brown. Serve the crackers warm or cool to accompany bouillons, soups, cheese platter, etc.

You may also sprinkle the crackers with sesame or poppy seeds before baking them (see the picture below).

Recipe source: "Pechen'e iz syra", Lifshits, M. O. et al. (1955) Kulinariia. Moscow: Gostorgizdat.