I don't have the candy recipe handy, but there are other options. Which will
work depends on how weak the colony is and how cold the weather is.
 
If the colony is indeed near starvation this early in the winter, it may take a
lot of attention, and still be unlikely to survive. If there are still lots of
bees they should use frames of honey either moved over toward the cluster, or
moved in from another hive (warming the frames indoors might help). Try not to
disturb the cluster too much. Even warm syrup poured onto the face of an empty
comb will resuscitate a near starving colony, but in a cold climate I wouldn't
expect much success if you had to resort to it this early (the extra water, and
another 2-3 months of confinment may be hard on the bees).
 
Some people like feeding dry sugar, but usually as emergency or "insurance"
feeding. In the simplest form, poke a few bee-sized holes in a bag of granulated
sugar and place the bag over the hole in the inner cover. Stronger colonies
sometimes clean out these bags of sugar quite well (though some sugar may fall
to the bottom board  or be thrown out the entrance). Weak colonies may starve in
spite of the dry sugar, but some may survive if their cluster is near the inner
cover hole (and the sugar supply lasts).
 
All in all, it's better to feed in fall.
 
good luck