Why does refined coconut oil make cookies chewy?

I've made this recipe for Chewy Vegan Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies and they are indeed chewy and delicious.

I never used refined coconut oil before so I did some research. I saw a lot of recipes claiming "chewy" when they called for refined coconut oil. But I haven't found anything that explained why.

What is it about this oil that produces chewy-ness? What is the science behind refined coconut oil producing this texture?

Best Answer

I believe that the key here is the fat content, to achieve a truly chewy texture you need to have the right amount of saturated fat. In this case, chewiness comes from coconut oil's high saturated fatty acid content. As a comparison, coconut oil is 100% fat, 80-90% of which is saturated fat while butter has almost twice less (50-60%).