It is a food chemistry issue
Back in the 1980's, when we were in the midst of the low-fat/fat-free era, the "soft" cookie proliferated and many wanted to have a "crispy" low-fat/fat-free cookie.
In spite of the apparent demand, the industry could not come up with one, and still haven't. The reason is, it is the fat (mostly the oil) that makes the cookie crispy. It is also why they still haven't come up with one.
This also impacts the other issue you mentioned, flavorful. Fat, is a flavor carrier and helps distribute flavor through the food. This is why oil is used as a base for many flavors, extracts, etc.
This is also why there are so few of them available today. Very few consumers like the soft, chewy cookie.
If you find one, or anyone else know of one (or a recipe) that is truly low-fat, oil free, flavorful and meets out guidelines, please post it.
My mom has looked for one for over 35 years.
In Health
Jeff
PS while I am not recommending you to compromise your health in anyway, if a cookie was truly something one had on a rare occasion, then, as I have shown in my thread on the continuum of evil, the odds of it being harmful at 5% of calories to an otherwise adherent diet, is very very low.
