Stoke, with only one defeat in the Potteries this season, extended their unbeaten run to seven games as the woeful visitors posed little threat to City's fine defensive record.
Rangers, on this account, justly languish in the Championship doldrums. They managed only one meaningful shot in the game's entirety, allowing City to complete 656 minutes without conceding a goal.
The high-flying hosts only needed 10 minutes to display the attacking guile which has facilitated their recent assault on a much coveted play-off spot.
A well-crafted approach involving Ricardo Fuller and Liam Lawrence navigated the Potters through Rangers' security before Lee Hendrie saw his goal-bound drive palmed away by Simon Royce.
But even during the initial exchanges in this bout, Stoke were making real in-roads, and it wasn't long before they got a deserved reward, however fortuitous the circumstances.
Mauro Milanese seemed to have cause for complaint when referee Martin Atkinson directed attention to the penalty spot after judging his attentions towards Fuller to be over-zealous.
And Higginbotham gave the twitching Rangers keeper no chance from the resultant penalty to keep up a remarkable 100 per cent career conversion rate.
The defender has never missed the target from the penalty spot in 11 career attempts and his third successful spot-kick this term gave him Stoke City joint top-scorer status.
The visitors, now on course for their fourth defeat in succession, hadn't mustered an attempt until the hour mark, while the free-flowing home side were carving out chances at will.
Jimmy Smith fired a wild shot into the upper reaches of the away stand after marauding City full-back Andy Griffin dispatched a rocket narrowly across the visitors goal.
Hendrie should have added the gloss in the dying moments but instead smashed wide after a misjudgement from Stefan Bailey had almost put the winger through.
The freshly introduced Vincent Pericard also spurned a golden opportunity to finish off the Potters' sixth win on the bounce on home soil with style in the 88th minute.
But with the goal at his mercy the burly striker somehow steered wide after working flat out to greet Hendrie's hopeful centre with a City boot.