Gingerbread Christmas Boxes

If you're looking for a different and tasty way to wrap up small gifts this Christmas, you might be interested in this gingerbread alternative to cellophane or gift wrap.
These little edible boxes are ideal for those little gifts for friends like homemade biscuits, truffles and chocolates. They are adorable and are sure to bring oohs and ahhs all around.

GINGERBREAD CHRISTMAS BOXES (reworded from the Coles Christmas Magazine 2011)

125g butter, chopped
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup golden syrup
1 egg, separated
2 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 cup white chocolate chips, melted
1 3/4 cups icing sugar
Cachous to decorate

Preheat the oven to 180C.
Beat butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add syrup and egg yolk and beat until combined.
Add sifted flour, bicarb soda and ginger. Stir through with a butter knife until a dough forms.
Gather dough together and turn out onto a sheet of non stick baking paper. Divide into two even amounts.
Wrap one portion in cling wrap and set aside.
Roll the other portion out into a rectangle about 26cm x 18cm and trim the sides to neaten. Cut dough into 12 even pieces (four rows of three). Transfer squares to a greased and lined baking sheet with a little room for spreading. Place tray in the fridge to chill while you repeat this method with the remaining dough.
Bake the first tray for 10 minutes while chilling the second tray. Leave the squares on the tray for 5 minutes to cool before removing.
Place the melted white chocolate in a piping bag and use to "glue" the edges to form boxes. Leave to set.
Whisk egg white until frothy, then gradually add sifted icing sugar to form a stiff paste. Place in a piping bag and use to fill any gaps in the joins of the gingerbread boxes. Decorate with cachous. Pipe a cross on the lid of each box. Leave to set before filling.