How Much Royal Icing Do I Need?

How much royal icing do I need? Ah, the age-old question and one that I didn’t have the confidence to answer until a few years ago.

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It’s always been my biggest fear to run out of icing in the middle of decorating. Why? Because, if you run out of already colored icing thinned to the perfect consistency, then you have to attempt to remix the exact same color. Not impossible, but nearly!

But, at the same time, it’s so wasteful to be left with tons of extra icing (that said, I never waste mine: check out how to store leftover icing here).

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(click on a section to skip to it)

1. How much royal icing per cookie
2. How to measure royal icing
   • Guestimate Method
   • Exact Measurement Method
3. How do I plan out my icing for each set?
4. How many cookies can you decorate with my icing recipe?

How much royal icing per cookie

How much royal icing you need for an entire set all starts with how much icing you need per cookie. How much icing you need depends on the following factors:

• Size of the cookie (cutter)
• Shape of the cookie (a 2″ square is going to need more icing than a 2″ star)
• Flood depends on whether you’re flooding all the way to the edge or not (2 consistency outline/flood goes all the way to the edge and needs more icing; 1 consistency outline/flood usually does NOT go to the edge and needs LESS icing)
• How heavy-handed (or not) you are with flooding
• Flood vs. piping consistency is drastically different
• Design: is it all flood? all piping? a mix of both? etc etc

Based on my own admittedly padded measurements, a standard 3.5″ cookie typically requires 1-1.25 ounces icing per cookie in total (for both flood and piping details). Of course this depends on the design!

I usually like to budget .75-1 ounce for flood plus .25-.5 ounce for the top decoration (now this is usually overestimating but it’s definitely my worst fear to run out of icing).

That said, smaller cookies definitely require less icing! Cookies in the standard sets I make ranging from 2″ to 4″ can use anywhere from 0.3 ounces to 1.3 ounce of flood icing, for example.

How to measure royal icing

There are two ways you can choose to measure how much icing you’ll need for a set:

1. Guestimate (#goodenough approximate)
2. Exact Measurement (don’t waste an ounce!)

Which one is better? Well, it depends on how you like to do things. I use the Guestimate for method when creating sets for content or samples for classes, and the Exact Measurement when putting together the prep guidelines for classes.

Also, these aren’t official names, just mine 😉

How to measure royal icing: Guestimate Method

The first option for measuring royal icing is to guestimate! Of course, you’ll need to consider all of the consistencies that you need for the set of cookies. This is my preferred method when creating a set for content or samples for a class.

This method is quite simple: use my guestimate recommended numbers below times the number of cookies you’re making to figure out how much icing you need! (I will add 2-3 extra cookies in my calculations for wiggle room.)

FLOOD ICING

How much flood you need is not just going to depend on the size of the cookie, but also the shape (a 3.5″ square is going to need more icing than a 3.5″ gingerbread man) and whether or not you’re flooding all the way to the edge (typically all the way to the edge with a 2 consistency outline and flood…so you’ll need more; typically NOT all the way to the edge with a 1 consistency outline and flood…so you’ll need less). Also keep in mind that some people are pretty heavy-handed with their flood, while others tend to underflood.

All that said, here are my guestimate recommendations (based on actual measurements of a flooded circle):

• 2″ cookie: budget 0.5 ounces flood (can range 0.3-0.5 ounces)
• 2.5″ cookie: budget 0.6 ounces flood (can range 0.4-0.6 ounces)
• 3″ cookie: budget 0.9 ounces flood (can range 0.6-0.9 ounces)
• 3.5″ cookie: budget 1.1 ounces flood (can range 0.75-1.1 ounces)
• 4″ cookie: budget 1.3 ounces flood (can range 1-1.3 ounces)

The range amount is how much a cookie that size could potentially need depending on the shape and 1 vs 2 consistency outline/flood.

Is this method perfect? Absolutely not. Is it good enough? Yes, it is. At least, good enough for me! I’m OK with having leftover icing because I always freeze extra, but if you’d rather be more precise and have less extra, definitely check out the Exact Measurement option.

PIPING ICING

Guestimating piping consistency icing has always been the hardest for me. For these estimates I’m talking just the piping consistency you need to outline a cookie and do a standard amount of detail piping on a cookie design.

Since I’m always paranoid I’ll run out (and I have pretty large hands at 5’11), I will typically do the following for 1 batch of dough/18-24 cookies:

• Piping consistency just for outlining and simple detail piping (this is PER color with 3-6 colors per set):
  • Just outlining a couple cookies: 1 ounce
  • Outlining plus some detail piping on top: 1.5-2 ounces
  • Outlining plus some lettering: 2.5-3 ounces (this is purely just because I like to have a little bit more icing to hold when lettering)
• Piping consistency for more extensive piping: anywhere from 0.1 ounces to 1 ounce per cookie (see the examples below to get an idea of how much icing you’d need for different applications).

I definitely don’t recommend bagging less than 1 ounce, but if you have large hands like mine you’ll appreciate 1.5 ounces!

Here are some other random measurements of detail icing for reference (these are with 3.25-3.75″ cookies):

Whipped cream on a mug (with medium peak): 0.45 ounces

Crust on a pie (with medium peak): 0.4 ounces

Stem on a pumpkin (with medium peak): 0.1 ounces

Sweater piping detail (with medium peak, not the full cookie): 0.3 ounces

Pressure piping Christmas tree (with medium peak): 0.8 ounces

Green piping of Christmas tree (with soft peak; does not include white): 0.3 ounces

Beaded border (with medium peak): 0.1 ounces

Brush embroidery border (with medium peak): 0.15 ounces

Snow on a gingerbread house (with thin flood): 0.3 ounces

Door on a gingerbread house (with thin flood): 0.1 ounces

As you can see, some of these detail icing can be very minimal at 0.1 ounces, or it can consist of the entire cookie at 0.8 ounces. Guestimating the detail icing is definitely the most stressful part to me!

How to measure royal icing: Exact Measurement Method

If you prefer to be more precise, exact measurement is the method for you! This is the method I use when creating the prep guidelines for classes (I will measure each icing element as I’m decorating).

First up, you’re going to need a food scale! I measure everything in weight in ounces (no particular reason why ounces… that’s just where I started and it stuck!

Here are some options for food scales that I like:

• Option 1 (this served me well for many years; battery operated)
• Option 2 (my newest favorite largely because it rechargeable!)

Use a sketch of the cookie shape

This is the best option when you have NOT baked the cookies yet! And, presumably, you know exactly how many cookies you’re making.

First, sketch the cookie cutter on a piece of paper (preferably with an edible marker):

Then, simply flood the outline (this is where having leftover icing on hand from a previous set is super useful).

Use a naked cookie (with something in between)

The second option is done only after you’ve baked the cookies. This is usually my approach because I measure the icing for classes while I’m making the samples (also a good workflow if you’re making samples for a flash sale or pre-orders).

For this method, instead of using a sketch of a cookie you’re using the actually cookie itself. In this case I was flooding an actual final cookie, which is why I flooded directly on top of the cookie. If you’re doing this with extra icing before actually decorating, then you’ll want to place something see-through in between the cookie and the icing. I usually use cellophane piping bags, or you could probably make parchment paper or waxed paper work in a pinch.

Keep in mind you can also measure partial sections:

How much piping consistency do I need?

Once you figure out the flood consistency for each design, you’ll need to consider the piping consistency.

If you’re creating a design that has more than a standard amount of piping consistency, you’ll definitely want to weigh this as well! Otherwise, I use the same guestimate numbers for my piping consistency needs:

Since I’m always paranoid I’ll run out (and I have pretty large hands at 5’11), I will typically do the following for 1 batch of dough/18-24 cookies:

• Piping consistency just for outlining and simple detail piping (this is PER color with 3-6 colors per set):
  • Just outlining a couple cookies: 1 ounce
  • Outlining plus some detail piping on top: 1.5-2 ounces
  • Outlining plus some lettering: 2.5-3 ounces (this is purely just because I like to have a little bit more icing to hold when lettering)

I definitely don’t recommend bagging less than 1 ounce, but if you have large hands like mine you’ll appreciate 1.5 ounces!

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How do I plan out my icing for each set?

To be totally honest, it wasn’t until I started teaching classes that I got more serious about planning out how much icing I needed before decorating. Now, I can’t make a set without planning!

I use both methods (Guestimate and Exact Measurement) depending on what I’m doing. When I’m making a set just for content or the samples for a class, I’ll use the Guestimate method. When I’m planning out icing for a class workbook or an in-person class (which I don’t do anymore), I’ll use the Exact Measurement method.

Based on my own workflow and demands (whether I’m making a set of cookies for content or for a class), I prefer the “use a naked cookie” method for estimating icing needs.

1. First, I bake the cookies. This tells me exactly how many cookies I need to ice (I don’t take orders so I make as many cookies as a batch of dough will make).
2. If I’m doing the Exact Measurement method: I use the “naked cookie” method to estimate how much flood I will need of each color. (If not, I’ll just skip straight to #3 for the Guestimate method.)
3. Then, on my iPad I lay out all of the colors with the amount of each consistency needed for each color (if I’m doing a design with a heavy amount of piping consistency I will do a test run and weigh that out, otherwise, I will just estimate 1-3 ounces based on outlining, piping and/or lettering needs).
4. Once I have my iPad sketch done, I know exactly how much icing I need of each color and I divide the icing into the color bowls (then I will color the full bowl of icing, and then take out how much icing I need of each consistency into a separate bowl to thin).

Here is a picture of what this planning looks like for the Guestimate method (for a set for content):

Here is a picture of what this planning looks like for the Exact Measurement method (for class workbook prep):

My shorthand (I always list it out from thickest to thinnest; and the numbers are all ounces):

• Stiff = stiff peak piping consistency
• MP = medium peak piping consistency
• SP = soft peak piping consistency
• Thick = thick flood
• Thin = thin flood

If you’re unfamiliar with how I categorize consistencies, definitely check out my detailed post on royal icing consistency.

The above burgundy/pink measurements were actually for my Sweet Hearts online class, which is why I specifically notate how much icing will be left as I always have my classes make one batch of icing per one batch of dough. And the “practice: medium” is so I know which color I want the students to use for the practice sheets 😉

How many cookies can you decorate with my icing recipe?

My recipe makes about 35-37 ounces of icing. Given my measurements above, my recipe makes enough icing for about 26-28 3.5″ cookies. A standard quantity is 24 (2 dozen cookies), so that seems like the perfect amount of icing to me!

My cookie recipe makes about 20-24 cookies, which I think is perfect to match with one batch of icing (yes, you’re going to have some leftover icing each time, but it’s better than worrying every time whether or not you’ll have enough).

Other posts you might be interested in:

• What Is Royal Icing: A Beginner’s Guide
• My Royal Icing Recipe
• My Cookie Recipe
• How to store royal icing (more detailed instructions)
• Troubleshooting Royal Icing: Common Problems While Cookie Decorating
• All of my favorite cookie decorating supplies
• Left-Handed Cookie Decorating
• Cookie Decorating Practice Sheets